Am 20. Januar war erstmalig das Phoenix Theatre mit drei englischsprachigen Stücken bei uns zu Gast. Für unsere Jüngsten gab es mit „Captain Jack“ diesmal eine Piratengeschichte in der Tradition von „Fluch der Karibik“. Die Mittelstufe setzte sich anhand des Stückes „Songs My Mother Taught Me“ kritisch mit der brisanten Flüchtlingsthematik und den Problemen von Ausgrenzung und Rassismus auseinander. Die Oberstufe erlebte eine gelungene Umsetzung von Oscar Wildes Komödie „The Importance of Being Earnest“. Ihre Eindrücke haben unsere Schüler in kleinen – natürlich englischen – Rezensionen festgehalten:

Captain Jack: A Treasure Hunt on the High Seas

The play “Captain Jack” is about pirates and a treasure. Our first reaction was: It´s really funny and exciting. The story is about Captain Jack, a pirate who wants to find a treasure. But the Queen wants the treasure too. So she sends out two of her spies: Mary and Stinky. As Captain Jack is searching for some pirates to travel with him, the spies dress up as pirates, they get on the ship and travel with him to the island – Mary disguised as a man of course.
The props were simple, but they were enough to underline the plot. We liked the singing parts because the woman had a wonderful voice. The best character for us was Mary because she was clever and funny.
Other students need to watch the play. It´s funny and very interesting. The actors answered questions after the play. Come and see Captain Jack!
(Jessica and Siri, class 6s)

Songs My Mother Taught Me

Imagine you have lost your home and loved ones, and now you have to try to move on and keep moving with the same optimistic intentions you had before, while the only thing that is left from your home is a self-written song from your dead mother.
“Songs My mother Taught Me” is a 60 minute theatre play about two characters named Sami and Craig. Sami is a refugee and tries to get used to her new environment while she lives with her aunt in England. A boy from school named Craig is supposed to show her around and they get along pretty fast. They both listen to a lot of music and she begins to like the music of Ed Sheeran. While she is on her journey, she gains a lot of her self-trust back and tries to make the best out of the situation even when she meets people that are not happy with her being around.
The musical elements in the play are beautiful to hear and greatly combined with the story. It is a heartwarming act, which leaves you with a positive view on life. In my opinion, it is the best play I have ever watched at school.
(Florian, Kurt, Santiago, Jonas class 9a)


Small Cast, Big Talent: An Earnest Delight

“In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.” - This line from Oscar Wilde‘s play “The Importance of Being Earnest”, written in 1895, highlights how the play amusingly tackles serious topics of its time. The Phoenix Theater performed the play at our school bringing it to life in a humorous way.
The story is about a man named Jack Worthing who pretends to have a brother named Ernest so he can escape his responsibilities in the countryside and see his love interest Gwendolen in the city. His friend Algernon Moncrieff discovers Jack’s secret and steals the identity for himself in order to impress Jack‘s ward Cecily. Both men happen to fall in love with women who are obsessed with the name of Ernest, and inevitably this big lie creates many misunderstandings. The play partly makes fun of Victorian society, showing how outdated some rules were.
In the school performance, the story was told by only two actors, one man and one woman. They switched characters quickly, and it was amazing to see how they used small changes in voice and costume to become somebody else. However, there were also some challenging parts. Sometimes the female actor spoke too fast, so it was hard to follow along. In addition, the stage design stayed almost the same throughout the play, which made it a little hard to tell where each scene was set. But these small issues didn’t impact the overall experience too much. All in all, I really enjoyed this performance. The two actors had great chemistry and really brought their characters to life. The humor and creativity displayed by the actors made for a memorable experience. I would definitely recommend this version of “The Importance of Being Earnest”, which was full of witty moments. Whether you were a fan of Oscar Wilde or just wanted a good laugh, this performance was worth watching.
(Helen, year 11)